Malaysian research house increases focus on semis, energy

SINGAPORE  MIMOS, the technology R&D arm of the Malaysian government, is extending its research into advanced semiconductor and energy solutions by teaming up with its counterparts in South Korea and Taiwan.

MIMOS president and CEO Abdul Wahab Abdullah said the organization will collaborate with Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute to set up a joint facility focusing on microelectronics and the development of advanced semiconductor materials for broadband devices.

Another venture with South Korea's Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute will focus on high-performance computing and applied R&D in micro-energy systems, he added.

Both facilities, which will be housed at MIMOS's headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, will be up and running by the third quarter of this year.

The CEO said the partnerships would allow the research agencies "to combine their R&D strengths, share resources, and exchange results of innovations."

The research agency has entered a series of alliances in recent months, joining forces with companies such as IBM and Silicon Graphics, Inc. to boost local capabilities in areas like software development and grid computing.

In December, MIMOS said an incentive program for researchers developing intellectual property in its current areas of focus, which include wireless broadband, MEMS/NEMS systems and cyber security, was starting to bear fruit, with staff delivering 80 patent disclosures in 2006.

The agency is targeting nearly 300 patent disclosures annually from its researchers by 2008.